Overcoming Fear... Through Adventure

I celebrate women and their bicycles. In a world where we've forgotten how to play, how to live inside our physical bodies, and how to value our vulnerability as well as our strength, bicycles can be our teachers.

In my early twenties, solo travel was my initiation into womanhood. Between the ages of twenty and twenty-five, I volunteered on organic farms in Chile, backpacked through parts of Central America, and rode my bicycle alone across the United States. The most common question was always, "You're out here alone?" Followed by, "Aren't you afraid?"

The "Me Too" movement on social media has brought the charged topic of women's vulnerability into the spotlight. Women are being invited to tell each other, and everyone, their personal stories of struggling with boundaries, expectations, weakness, and courage. The more we understand harassment and how we can overcome it, the more women will feel empowered to strike out on their own.

Ashtyn didn’t believe she was capable of biking across the country… but over three thousand miles later, she’d proved herself wrong. Here are Ashtyn’s tips, encouragement, and inspiration for anyone who dreams of traveling by bicycle.

When I asked about miracles on her bicycle tour across the country, Ashtyn responded, “Oh gosh, there were so many!” Here are some of her favorite memories of “divine intervention,” after riding across America with her brother Justin last year. (My personal favorite? The Powerade Miracle.)

Ashtyn never thought she could bike across the country. But at twenty two years old, she was lacking motivation and direction. A recent college graduate with no future plans and a waning confidence, Ashtyn decided to attempt the impossible. She texted her older brother, Justin, who also happened to be a Type One diabetic, and asked if he wanted to join her on a cross-country ride to raise awareness for Type One diabetes. Justin’s response? “F*#k yeah.”

I’ve got a resting “baby face.” I’m pushing thirty, but strangers often ask if I’m in school… and they don’t always mean college. Last spring, when high school graduation rolled around, several customers at the plant nursery asked me if I was excited to be done with high school.

“Yes,” I replied. “And I was even more excited ten years ago, when I graduated.”

I was embarassed. After all, I’d gotten everything I wanted and more: a supportive circle of new writer friends, 9 agents and editors interested in my manuscript, and a new plot-charting technique that will help me write faster, forever. To top it off, my submission in the PNWA literary contest had won me a spot among 9 Finalists in the Memoir/Nonfiction Category. But as I sat in my favorite purple dress at the Awards Banquet, my heart thumping loudly against my sternum, they announced the first, second, and third place winners in my category. And none of them were me.

With thousands of miles under her belt, Nan has some advice to share with anyone who's hesitant to embark on a self-supported bicycle tour. Especially women. “I don’t have many mechanical skills,” writes Nan, “But, YOUTUBE!”

On her first ever cross-country bicycle tour, Nan didn’t want to go alone. So she joined forces with another bike traveler, a stranger she met on Adventure Cycling’s “Companions Wanted” page. Unfortunately, he was grazed by a car on their first day of riding together, and had to quit the trip! Nan, determined as ever, decided to pedal across the country alone. What she discovered about solo travel, and herself, surprised her.

“Working through fear is a personal journey, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a supportive riding partner to encourage you as well,” writes Katie B. In this interview, Katie and I discuss the challenges of her 2017 cross-country bike tour, what inspired her to try bicycle travel in the first place, and the rewards that kept her going. She also recounts her “How We Met” story with her boyfriend and touring partner, Jeff!)

Tote Bags

"Humm" Women's Tee

Comfy, flattering, 100% cotton tees made in the USA. Available in both Sky Blue and Lime Green. Tees feature my original hummingbird design, with a longer cut that has you covered, both on and off the bike.